What happened to the Mulholland "King of the Hill" RSR?

[Banning]

Originally Posted by Noah930

Hey Banning, your friend Phil is having one heckuva party right now. Will you and Jane be stopping by? It's a bit like a BET event, though. You two might not blend. I can feel the bass beats from a few houses down.

Been too busy to go to Phils Parties lately but have to call him to go out to dinner soon. Have had to put it off for awhile. He did sell his turbo 911 but kept his Testarossa.

I didn't know you lived in the Mt. Olympus development near Phil.

btw, havn't seen Jeff H. for some time.
Saw Radu and Kei last weekend, went to Greystone together for the Porsche show.
Dave M. dropped out of sight, he's been making a nicely done guitar at his Dad's.

[Banning]

Originally Posted by Noah930

Los Angeles PCA chapter's annual concours is being held today at the Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills. I think the judging starts at 9:30. Cars get parked/presented around lunchtime.

Had a great time at Greystone with Jane, Radu, and Kei.


Check out this 1972 911S. Still with original owner. All documentation present. Car is as new, unbelievable!





Look at this motor, so clean you could eat off of it!


This guy ate off of the wrong engine. lol

[Banning]

Super clean GT3 RS, looks fast, real fast!











All beautiful cars. Porsche, there is no substitute!


What a beautiful day for a Porsche Car Show. Thanks for joining us Radu and Kei.

[Banning]

Originally Posted by ac27

Banning, I remember a while back you off handedly mentioned that the brakes on the RSR saved your life one time. Care to elaborate, I have always wondered!

I can tell you this, I owe my life to Dr. Porsche, Goodyear Blue Streaks, and a fast reaction time.

One afternoon sometime around 1980 I was driving The Carrera eastbound from the San Diego Freeway on Mulholland Drive. Visibility was excellent, road conditions were perfect and it seemed no one was around.

I was driving fairly fast, about 7/10's when I passed thru "The Bumps" or "Grafiti" as it is sometimes called. This is an area just east of Roscomare where there is a running wall that gets tagged every so often, it also is an area of very bumpy conditions that can never be repaired due to a active spring coming up from below the road surface.

This area ends at a very sharp, right, blind, very nasty turn with driveways on the north side.

So here I go like some dumb fool blazing without pre-running (one of my personal rules) into this blind turn and...

HOLY CRAPP! Big truck stopped just past the apex waiting for a car to make a left turn into a driveway. I only had a second.

With all my might, down went the brake pedal. Porsche Four-piston alloy calipers gripped the drilled-out Carrera 6 rotors as tight as possible.

It would have locked up probably if it wern't for those amazing Blue Streaks and that would have been the end of me and the famous 911.
The Truck's lift gate was coming up fast and if hit, we would really have a chop top 911..or chopped top with my head included.

But those crazy tires refused to lock. Instead I made a 50 mph to complete stop, IN THE TURN, in about 25 feet distance.
For a nano-second the laws of physics fought a war between who is going to win, the tires or the calipers.

Heavy smoke poured off of the tires and billowed from the wheelwells as I came to a controlled stop.
I was engulfed in a thick cloud of burning tires while my heart pounded heavily.

No one saw me, I was basically alone. The Truck then merrilly went on it's way while I sat recovering from mental stress.

After that learning experience I drove home at 1/10th, said a few thanks, and didn't drive the Carrera for a few weeks.

To this day, I am still appreciatively amazed at how those brakes performed. Thank you again Dr.

[lfot]

Originally Posted by Banning

I'm outside most of the time and can see Mulholland east and west.
Don't think that I don't notice a loud white 911 blazing by during all times of the day and night.

Some interesting things are about to happen, Motor Trend contacted me last week.

Derek, I need a passenger for something. Do you know anyone foolish enough?

I'm fairly foolish.

[Banning]

Originally Posted by lfot

I'm fairly foolish.

lol, when it cools

I will text you soon, we can discuss details

[Banning]

Derek and I are most likely meeting in the evening next week. Should be fun.

In the meantime, John Hall came from Arizona to visit Saturday and Sunday. He wanted a ride for old time's sake on Mul so this morning got the car out, put air in the tires, checked fluids, and off we went to the Racecourse and to Ventura Blvd to get gas.

Johnny is a legend of Mulholland, a best friend for over 35 years, my Best man, and has many incredible Mulholland stories to tell.

We stopped at Beaumont to take a few photos

[Banning]

[Banning]

Arriving at Laurel Canyon, we ran out of fuel. Luckily it's downhill from there.

Got up to speed while coasting and Yeoww! Cops on motorcycles on the other side of the Laurel giving out citations. Luckily, the Carrera was as quiet as a mouse while slipping past the officers. Barely making it to the Gas station, John and I were still laughing saying, "Just like the old times..."


On the way back we stopped at Deadmans to reminice. We reminded each other of times past and crazy things we did on Mulholland in the 70's.
It was good we were in the dirt we were laughing so hard.
John's making a personal story about Mulholland that I'm including in the next book.
More to come on that subject later.




John took videos of today's test run, up later on Youtube. No Crazyness here, just testing various systems.

[Banning]

The road test proved worthwhile, new gasket for fuel tank is secure. Shift linkage shifted again and requires adjustment.

What an awesome day to test track the car.









Paint still looks good after 35 years.

[Banning]

[Banning]

Now that the front of the house is complete from Remodeling, The Carrera is no longer impeded from leaving to visit Mulholland.
Happy Days are here again!

Videos and more good stuff coming...

[CHICKS]

Thank you for sharing, I absolutely love that car!

[Banning]

Originally Posted by CHICKS

Thank you for sharing, I absolutely love that car!

Most welcome, and thanks for the appreciation. Cheers!

[Noah930]

Hmmm. Seems like I keep missing you, Banning. First at the Greystone last week (I left around 1 to pick someone up from LAX), and then today on the Racecourse. Did a test run on the Duck mid-day to check out the charging system.

Just an aside: Derek's not the best of passengers. Though maybe his familiarity with the road will help ease his nerves.

[Heel n Toe]

I'm sure all the locals are fully aware of the "Mulholland Dr Bridge Demolition & I-405 Closure," but just for history's sake... saw this on NBC Nightly News last night:

I-405 Sepulveda Pass Improvements Project

The Mulholland Dr Bridge will be the third bridge demolished and reconstructed to accommodate the widening of the I-405 freeway and to add a northbound high-occupancy vehicle lane through the Sepulveda Pass. The Mulholland Dr Bridge is scheduled to be demolished and reconstructed after the Skirball Center Dr Bridge. When completed, the expanded, Mulholland Center Dr Bridge will be widened by approximately 10 feet and will be designed to the latest seismic standards.

Demolition activities will take place over the July 16-17 weekend for 53 consecutive hours, resulting in the full freeway closure of the I-405 freeway in the Sepulveda Pass. The Mulholland Dr Bridge will also be closed that weekend. Some intermittent closures of the Mulholland Dr Bridge will occur during the preparation for bridge demolition and bridge reconstruction. Access will always be provided for emergency responders.

Here are the I-405 freeway closure boundaries for the July 16-17 weekend:

Northbound I-405: 10-mile closure between I-10 and U.S. 101
Southbound I-405: 4-mile closure between U.S. 101 and Getty Center Drive Ramps

On Friday, July 15, ramps along the 10 mile closure will begin to be shut down as early as 7 p.m., and closure of freeway lanes will begin at 10 p.m. to ensure full freeway closure by midnight. The closure will continue until 5 a.m. Monday morning, July 18. Ramps and connectors will be reopened by 6 a.m.


Completed Mulholland Bridge, South View

Sepulveda Bl is intended as an alternate route for local resident access only. Sepulveda Bl will not have the capacity to accommodate both local and diverted freeway traffic. Those using Sepulveda Bl should expect extreme congestion and lengthy delays. Motorists should instead use alternate regional freeway routes to completely bypass the Sepulveda Pass.

Severe traffic conditions are anticipated in local and regional areas during the weekend of the full freeway closure. Detour maps will be available to reroute local traffic through the area. Also alternative regional freeway routes will be available to encourage the traveling public to avoid this area completely during the weekend of the bridge demolition.

To reduce the impacts on local traffic flow, the Mulholland Dr Bridge demolition and reconstruction will be conducted in two separate phases. The southern half of the bridge will be demolished first, followed by approximately 11 months of south side bridge reconstruction. Upon completion, the northern side of the bridge will be demolished and rebuilt in the same manner.

During reconstruction, the Mulholland Dr Bridge will accommodate one lane of traffic in each direction. The new traffic configurations for the Mulholland Dr Bridge will go into effect in mid-July 2011. Implementing these new traffic configurations and isolating the work zone will help the contractor prepare for demolition. The contractor will be:

Surveying the existing bridge's condition
Removing false deck from inside the bridge
Installing temporary traffic signals and signs and street lighting
Surveying and protecting existing utilities
Setting up construction yards
Developing detour routes for emergency vehicles

The I-405 project website will have the latest updates regarding construction work.
I-405 Sepulveda Pass Improvements Project

[slodave]

The worst part, John. There was an earlier plan for the bridge. Cost less and only impacted some of the residents. About half a dozen of those complained, forced the city to come up with the above plans.

[lfot]

Originally Posted by Noah930

Just an aside: Derek's not the best of passengers. Though maybe his familiarity with the road will help ease his nerves.

I've gotten better. Not great, but better. Not sure what Banning has in store, but it sounds interesting.

In all honesty, I think I'd rather try a little old school chase of the King.

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by lfot

In all honesty, I think I'd rather try a little old school chase of the King.

OK, Lightning.

[Banning]

John took four short videos.

Here we are Sunday getting the car ready, warm-up, tire pressure, and fluids.
Had to adjust Deck Lid catch on Whale Tail to fully engage lock.

YouTube - ‪Mulholland Putt Warmup‬‏